A disbursement is a payment made on behalf of a client or third party, for which reimbursement is subsequently sought from the client. In COP terms, this means a payment made by the Deputy that needs to be reimbursed by the Protected Party.  

With the new E-Bill, all work now needs to be categorised. This also applies to disbursements. The types of categories in the E-Bill are as follows:  

• travel expenses 
• costs draftsman’s fees  
• counsel’s fees  
• court fees  
• bank fees  
• internal solicitor fees 
• external solicitor fees 
• OPG fee  
• courier fees 
• land registry fees  
• expert fees  
• other  

Many of the items in the list do not need to be assessed and would be better placed in the annual Deputyship report (e.g. court fees) and as such, this has caused some confusion as to what disbursements need to be assessed and what disbursements do not need to be assessed. As a result of the confusion, we obtained guidance from the costs officers.  

According to the Costs Officers, the disbursements that MUST be included in a general management bill for assessment are:  

• travel expenses  
• counsel’s fees  
• bank fees  

• land registry fees 
• courier fees  
• expert fees  

The Costs Officers also advised that internal and external solicitor fees would be dependent on the case and the orders made. Whilst these fees are not usually included in general management files, should this come up on one of your matters and you are unsure, please ask us for further guidance. 

In certain applications (such as Statutory Wills) there will be no Deputyship report where disbursements can be claimed. In these types of bills, ALL disbursements incurred must be claimed within the bill – if not claimed in the bill you will not be able to bill the disbursement to the client. 

For more information, please contact Tanya Foran by email at Tanya.Foran@clarionsolicitors.com.